


Honey & Hemlock

by TheCourtSorcerer



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: (kind of), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Anxious Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Arthur Finds Out About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon Has Magic (Merlin), BAMF Merlin (Merlin), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fast Burn Plot (kind of), Good Mordred (Merlin), Good Morgana (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Panic Attacks, Pining Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Pining Merlin (Merlin), Protective Merlin (Merlin), Slow Burn, Uther is a dick, but like subtly BAMF, further warnings in notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:42:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29751504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCourtSorcerer/pseuds/TheCourtSorcerer
Summary: “When you said the Sorceress didn’t spell you. You were lying. I know you were, you did that weird nose flare thing you do when you lie. What did she do, Arthur?”Arthur tensed. Did he really have such a tell? Damn Merlin and always being able to read Arthur like children’s book. “It doesn’t matter,” Arthur sighed in defeat, “She tried to something but it clearly didn’t work. I’m perfectly fine, as Gaius said, and when she finished speaking, she collapsed to the ground, dead. Her magic backfired and killed her instead of me, I suppose.”He purposefully left out the part about the gold and the touch and the constant buzzing beneath his skin. He was sure it was nothing, and he knew it would only worry Merlin further.When out with his Knights and Merlin, Arthur is targeted by a vengeful Sorceress (per usual), and struck by a spell with...Unusual effects. Dangerous effects. Faced with a fearful challenge, a treasonous secret to keep, Arthur let's Merlin in to help him, only to discover Merlin could help more than he would have thought.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 32
Kudos: 204
Collections: Tavern Quest 2: Merlin Hurt/Comfort Fest 2021





	Honey & Hemlock

**Author's Note:**

> _**Warnings**_ : Anxiety, Panic attacks, very brief scene featuring the sacrifice of one's own life for ritual purposes (very very brief, not heavily described and non-graphic, **not a Merlin Character**)
> 
> Wow. I mean, wow. So, I can't believe I'm finally posting this, oh my gods. I have been working on this all month. I have put so much time into this fic, it's not even funny lol I am so excited to finally be sharing this.
> 
> Honestly, for a fic about magic, there is not nearly as much magic actually in it as I had been planning to write, and I ended up more focusing on Merlin helping Arthur through it all. The Hurt/Comfort is strongest at the start/in the first half! 
> 
> I want to give the biggest thanks to my beta reader [Miah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiahWitch) for sticking with me through this long process and reading it over for me! 
> 
> I really hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!! 
> 
> _  
> ~~Rough translations for spells in end notes!~~  
> _

It all happened so fast, Arthur hardly had time to react.

One moment, swords were swinging and clashing against each other, the next… The knights and bandits alike dropped, unconscious.

Arthur swung his sword as he spun around to look for the cause. No, he knew the cause. Sorcery. He looked around for the sorcerer, eyes widening when he spots Merlin collapsed with the knights, against a tree.

Merlin, too… It never gets Merlin, too! Really, he supposed he should be suspicious of that, but it tended to play out in his favour so he continued to play willfully ignorant. Now, though, now even Merlin was hit, slumped against the trunk of a tree hardly a metre away from the prince.

Cold dread washed over him when he realized he was the only one left conscious. Surely, that hadn’t been a mistake. His assumption was proved correct when gentle yet venomous words bit through the silence as a woman emerged from the trees.

“Arthur Pendragon,” she spoke with a voice like honey and hemlock, “Beloved Prince of Camelot… Spineless pawn in your fathers wicked game… You look but a boy, yet you’ve done such wrong. Committed grievous crimes against your people.”

“Who do you think you are to address me like that?” Arthur snapped, glaring darkly at the woman who looked so young yet held herself with the exhaustion of someone so old. It was as if she herself were a walking juxtaposition, meant to drive the Prince mad with confusion over each part of her that contrasted so harshly against herself.

As if to further prove his point, a soft smile of innocence danced along her lips while a violent fire of fury sang in her eyes. “I was to be a High Priestess of the Old Religion, before I was forced to _flee_.” Hemlock drowned out honey, as her words became a dangerous hiss. “I had mentors and tutors who sang my praises! Who’d never seen anyone learn as quickly as I! I could have been _incredible_! I could have been the _best!_ ” She began to raise her voice, and Arthur moved to take a step closer, sword ready to swing. He was stopped dead in his tracks, though, when she all but yelled, “ _forb_ _ī_ _eteþ!”_ a fire truly in her eyes this time, as Arthur saw them shift from dark to bright, glowing yellow.

“ _Listen to me!”_ The woman cried, hands trembling with anger. Arthur tried to move, but he found himself frozen in place. “Your people live in _fear_ , in _terror_ , of the King’s reign! And you’ve done nothing to stop it! You are meant to be _better_! You were supposed to be the King of prophecy! You were meant to rule beside the _Great Emrys_ , guiding magic to the lands again! Yet you stand by Uther’s side and don’t say a _word_ against his tyranny! You know _nothing_ of your people’s pain, yet you’re meant to be the one to bring an end to it?! I’ve watched, and I’ve waited, and waited, and _waited._ I’ve seen so much death—the deaths of my Priestesses, of my mentors, of my kin! Well, I’m _finished_ waiting, Pendragon! It’s time you learn your people’s fear…”

Arthur’s eyes widened as she approached him, her face a mix of conflicting emotions—persistence, and defeat. Determination, and resignation. He found anxiety beginning to lick at his heart as he tried to speak, to talk her down from whatever she planned, only to discover whatever spell she’d cast to freeze him had frozen his voice as well.

The woman stopped directly in front of him and placed her left hand suspiciously gently on his chest, over his heart, before raising her right to the sky, palm up. Had he not been frozen, Arthur was sure he would have flinched at the touch of the sorceress. She rolled her head back slowly as she closed her eyes, face to sky, throat bared. Then she began to speak words Arthur had not ever heard before yet immediately knew were the lines of sorcery.

“Gydenu drýcræft, íc bēne oþ þé,” her voice was oddly soothing as she spoke the words like a prayer. The thought struck Arthur with a wave of concern. This woman was obviously trying (and succeeding) to endanger him, and he thought her soothing?! Still, he found himself straining his ears to keep listening to her voice. “Mín ríce ġehwearf oþ _Arthur_ ; mín dēaþlīċnes handleán in feohgesceot. Gydenu drýcræft, íc bēne oþ þé, āht _Arthur_ mín gāstġifu; wilcumest mé ēþel.”*

A moment passed of silence, and confusion rose in Arthur. Then, three shimmering tendrils of liquid gold began to seep out of the sorceress. They wrapped around her left arm slowly, methodically, and Arthur began to really wish he could move as they started to snake towards him. Vaguely, he recognized the woman speaking in a whisper as she stared at the sky with wide, glowing eyes. The golden tendrils paused at her hand on his chest, then as the Sorceress before him began to turn a ghostly pale shade, they shot through her hand and straight into his body. The force of it sent him staggering back away from her, as he was released from the spell that kept him frozen, and the woman collapsed to the ground with a warm grin.

He felt a strange buzzing course through his veins, originating from his chest, and stumbled as he tried to steady himself. He faintly heard the groans of his knights, and assumed the spell that made them unconscious had faded off, but was too zoned out trying to figure out what was crawling beneath his skin to check. It wasn’t until he heard a familiar voice shout his name that he managed to tug himself back to reality.

“Arthur! _Arthur!_ ” Merlin exclaimed in a panic, his eyes wide and frantic as he rushed to the Prince, “Are you okay?! What happened?!”

Arthur stood still as his manservant began to hurriedly inspect him for any wounds. He assumed Merlin didn’t find any, when he pulled away after a moment without freaking out. “I—” Arthur shook his head, raising a hand and placing it on Merlin’s shoulder, “I’m fine, Merlin. Really, I should be making sure you’re alright, you’re the one who was shot unconscious by a sorceress.”

Merlin frowned and opened his mouth, seemingly to reply, but he was cut off by Leon’s voice coming from a few steps away. “Sire,” he called, drawing both his and Merlin’s attention to where he kneeled beside the Sorceress, hand on her pulse, “She’s dead.”

“Ah… Right… Well, let’s get back to report the attack. Is everyone alright to walk?” Arthur raised his voice to ask his knights. Once he got a chorus of ‘yes’ in response, he nodded and began to lead the way.

“Sire, are you alright?” Leon suddenly asked, hurrying his pace to catch up with Arthur. “Did she attack you while we were down?”

Arthur hesitated, rolling his shoulders as he walked.

“No,” he lied smoothly, “No, I’m fine. I subdued her before she could do anything to me, and then it appeared her own magic betrayed her and she died. And you are to tell my father exactly that if he asks you to confirm my story after my report.”

He ignored the suspicious glare from Merlin, and the concerned one from Leon as the Knight nodded. He ignored the thrumming under his skin, and the groans and mutters from his knights. He just picked up speed and kept leading them back through the woods.

* * *

“Why did you lie?”

Arthur looked back at Merlin in confusion, as the doors to his chambers shut loudly. The report back to his father had gone well, he was delighted to hear a Sorceress had been killed by her own magic, and now he was finally back in his room, with Merlin at his side.

“What?” He asked, walking over to his desk, where he sat down with a relieved sigh, glad to be off his feet. The humming was still there, softer now, but still present. It confused him, but he paid it no mind, as it didn’t seem to be doing any harm and Gaius had said he was perfectly healthy when he did his mandatory check in after reporting to his father.

“Why did you lie?” Merlin repeated as he followed him to stand in front of his desk. “When you said the Sorceress didn’t spell you. You were lying. I know you were, you did that weird nose flare thing you do when you lie. What did she do, Arthur?”

Arthur tensed. Did he really have such a tell? Damn Merlin and always being able to read Arthur like children’s book. “It doesn’t matter,” Arthur sighed in defeat, “She tried to something but it clearly didn’t work. I’m perfectly fine, as Gaius said, and when she finished speaking, she collapsed to the ground, dead. Her magic backfired and killed her instead of me, I suppose.”

He purposefully left out the part about the gold and the touch and the constant buzzing beneath his skin. He was sure it was nothing, and he knew it would only worry Merlin further. Merlin narrowed his eyes, staring at Arthur as if he was analyzing him. It made the Prince shift uncomfortably in his seat, feeling like a physician’s patient.

“…Fine.” His manservant conceded, though he didn’t look happy about it, “but the _moment_ something weird happens, I _will_ find out, and I _will_ tell Gaius. Or, maybe, if you tell me yourself as soon as something happens, I’ll be nice help you find a cure without involving Gaius, so he doesn’t find out you lied to him about not being spelled. I am the Physician’s Assistant, after all, I have access to all his remedies and books. If you tell me willingly, Gaius doesn’t need to know a thing.”

Arthur sat back in his chair, glaring at Merlin. “That sounds a lot like blackmail, Merlin. Don’t forget who you’re speaking to.”

“Oh, believe me, I couldn’t if I tried,” he snorted in response, “I always know I’m talking to you, because you’re an arrogant prat who thinks he’s invincible. Now… Do we have a deal?”

“I could have you in the stocks for speaking to me that way.”

“But you won’t. Deal?”

Arthur lets out a loud, resigned sigh. “Deal.”

* * *

It wasn’t long before Arthur decided to break the deal. No, no, when it became clear the spell had actually done something… Arthur knew in an instant he couldn’t keep his end of the deal.

It was late the night after the attack. Merlin had left for the evening, to sleep, and Arthur was safely in his warm bed. The moon had reached its highest point in the sky. Light trickled through the clouds, letting slivers of silver glow pour into the Prince’s chambers.

The room was cold, the fire having gone out long ago, but Arthur was gasping and sweating as he tossed and turned, shoving the heavy duvet off of him as his eyes flew open and he shot into an upright position. As he shot awake, skin hot as if he was burning, the buzzing under his skin surged through him before suddenly, his window opened with a loud clang, icy air blowing into the room.

Arthur jumped at the sudden noise, snapping his gaze to the open window, eyes wide. A shiver ran through him that had nothing to do with the cold air blowing in, as he slowly began to cool down, the buzzing under his skin seeming to relax. He took a deep breath and reached under his pillow, grabbing the dagger that he kept under it before swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and standing up. A tinge of regret hit him when he remembered how he’d dismissed the guards outside his door until morning.

On high alert, Arthur crept over to his window and pulled it shut. He stood next to it for a moment, staring out at his sleeping kingdom, bathed in the moonlight. With a sigh, he turned around and glanced suspiciously around his room. It was hard to see in the dark of his room, his eyes squinted as he tried to make out any unusual shapes. He just—light, he needed—

Arthur let out a sharp gasp, stumbling back in surprise when two candles near his bed were suddenly lit aflame by seemingly nothing. He stared at the bright flames in shock, before quickly glancing around his room again.

“Who’s there?!” He snapped into the slightly brightened room. Upon receiving no answer, Arthur gripped his dagger tighter. There had been no one by his bed, he knew it, yet the candles lit… It had to be… It was sorcery. There was a sorcerer in his chambers.

He tensed at the thought, the realization. Of course, his ideas about magic had shifted greatly as of recently, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be disturbed by the thought of a sorcerer sneaking into his chambers in the middle of the night! It would be bad enough if it were a normal assassin! No, it had to be sorcerer, though, who could use magic and do their job more easily. Beliefs on magic changing or not, this was _not_ an ideal situation.

The humming coursing through him got louder, practically vibrating in his veins by this point. He wasn’t afraid. He was a prince; he didn’t get scared. _He wasn’t scared_!

“Come out now, and perhaps your life shall be spared!” His voice did _not_ waver. It didn’t.

Arthur worked his way around his room slowly, until suddenly, he caught a glimpse of gold as he passed his mirror and froze. Hesitant, he took a deep breath and began to back up to his mirror again. The hum in his skin was growing impossible to ignore, like it was begging for his attention. When his eyes landed on his mirror again, though, once he stood back in front of it, the hum faded to near nothing. It was the last thing on his mind, hardly a trouble compared to the sight before him.

A loud clang echoed through Arthur’s chambers as he stared in horror at the sight before him, feeling as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice over him.

Gold.

His eyes were _gold_.

 _He was the_ _sorcerer._

* * *

“Oh. You’re already awake...”

Arthur jumped involuntarily at the sudden voice, before he quickly composed himself and looked up to Merlin, who was walking over to where he sat at his desk with a tray of food. He hadn’t even heard him come in…

Merlin frowned at Arthur as he set down his breakfast in front of him. “Hey, are you okay? Did you sleep at all last night? Did something happen, is it the spell?”

The Prince stayed silent for a moment, staring blankly at Merlin before letting his gaze fall to his breakfast. He was conflicted. He could tell Merlin… Merlin wouldn’t tell anyone, Merlin could help him, he was his friend…

Merlin gets tense when they talk about magic. Merlin leaves the room when sorcerers are sentenced. Merlin never watches the executions.

Was Merlin afraid of magic? Would Merlin be afraid of him?

… _Would Merlin tell his father?_

What would his father do if he knew?

His father wouldn’t harm him, right? He’d know it was a curse, he was cursed. That sorceress put a spell on him, then the same day he suddenly has magic? He was cursed, it was the only explanation. Surely his father would understand. His father would help him. Right…? His father wasn’t _that_ cruel… He wouldn’t condemn him for something he had no choice over, _right?_

“Arthur…?” Merlin’s voice yanked him back to reality, and his eyes snapped to his manservant, wide and afraid. No, not afraid. _Not afraid_. He had nothing to be afraid of. His father wouldn’t _kill_ his own son for something he couldn’t even control.

 _But his own son is a sorcerer now,_ a dark voice in the back of his head whispered, _the very thing he swore to rid the kingdom of, no matter what._

His stomach churned at the thought, and he found himself pushing away his food, feeling too sick to be hungry.

“I’m fine, _Mer_ lin,” Arthur forced out the lie, hoping his voice sounded normal, “I simply wasn’t able to sleep much. Someone didn’t put enough logs on the fire before he left, so it burned out and left my chambers freezing.”

Technically it wasn’t a lie. The fire _had_ gone out early, and he _hadn’t_ got much sleep. Though, the connection between the two was near unidentifiable. In reality, he’d stayed up all night pacing his room, trying to be logical about his whole situation. He had magic. That was new, but it didn’t have to be a bad thing. Right? Except, no, it was.

He knew magic wasn’t bad. It couldn’t be if Morgana—magic itself couldn’t be bad. So, he shouldn’t be in danger. But then came the cruel reminder of why she left. Sorcery was punishable by death. Morgana knew that. She was wise enough to know Uther would be too blinded by his hatred to think his actions clearly through, to care who he was condemning. That left Arthur with a new crisis to pace about his room in the dark with until sun rose. How the hell would he keep this from his father? What would his father do if he found out? How could he be sure he was safe just because he was prince? What if he couldn’t control the magic within him? He _had_ just opened a window and lit two candles without meaning to. Who’s to say what else he’ll accidentally do, and who he will do it in front of?

He spent the entire night, pacing, thinking, growing more and more worried, until finally light poured into his room and he dropped into the chair at his desk where he hung his head until his manservant finally came in to wake him, knowing he probably looked like shit. His manservant who was staring at him in concern at that very moment. Arthur sighed and pressed his lips into a thin smile he hoped wasn’t too forced.

“I’m _fine_ , Merlin,” he reassured, as if saying it again with more aggression behind it would somehow convince either of them.

Merlin frowned at him. He opened his mouth, looking as if he would call the Prince out on his lie, before shutting it again and sighing.

“You have training first thing this morning, you really should eat your breakfast,” he said instead, “then, after you have a council meeting to discuss the recent bandit raids against Camelot’s bordering villages, and lunch with your father.”

Arthur grunted softly in response, as Merlin pushed his food back towards him again. “Come on, eat up. I pulled a few strings and got you that sweetbread you like so much.”

Merlin stared at him expectantly until Arthur finally sighed and grabbed the sweetbread and began to eat, slowly. He still felt the humming beneath his skin, but it was much fainter now than it was the previous night. Easier to ignore. He stiffened for a moment when the buzzing spiked, before calming down again, and looked up to see Merlin staring at him strangely. He shifted slightly beneath his manservant’s analytical gaze. He looked as if he was trying to pick him apart, as if he was trying to put the pieces of a puzzle together.

The thought made a chill of unease run down his spine. Did he know? How would he know? Oh, gods, was he going to say something about it? To him? To the King? _Why was he staring at him like that?!_

“Do you need something, Merlin?” Arthur snapped; it came out a bit harsher than he intended. Merlin didn’t flinch back or show any sign of upset from his tone, though. Instead, he just frowned and shook his head before plastering on a smile.

“No, Sire, just make sure you eat enough, you need your energy,” he hummed, adding as a second thought, “for training with the Knights, I mean…I’ll prepare your clothes for the day.”

Then, he walked to the wardrobe, back to the Prince as he began to dig through the clothes. Arthur watched him for a moment before looking aback to his food, biting his bottom lip gently and worrying it between his teeth.

“ _Arthur_ , are you eating?” Arthur would deny it to his grave if anyone ever claimed he jumped at the sound of his servant’s accusing voice. He looked to Merlin, to see him still looking away, and sighed.

“Yes, _Mer_ lin,” he muttered, shoving a bite of food in his mouth as he spoke to prove a point.

“ _Good._ ”

* * *

Training with the knights had gone thankfully without trouble. The buzzing coursing through him was constant, but soft and almost…content. Soft enough to ignore. Yet, Arthur couldn’t help but try and feel the hum occasionally throughout the morning, he’d not admit it, but he did. He’d stop and concentrate on the feeling, using the excuse that he needed to take a breath or grab a drink during training, to let the hum take over and fill him with warm comfort.

He knew it was the magic. He knew that now, thanks to the previous night. He knew how treasonous this whole situation was, how wrong it was, but he couldn’t help but wonder how something that felt so good could be this great evil his father said it was. It just further instilled his newly forming beliefs that all magic couldn’t be inherently evil.

Nonetheless, as he walked down the corridor to meet his father for lunch, silently relieved that the council meeting had been postponed until the next evening, he was reminded of just how bad this situation was again.

He’d let the calm thrumming under his skin lull him to relaxation, to a sense of security, let the magic ease his worries. As he approached the doors to the Hall where his father sat waiting for him at a table of food, he found his heart begin to speed up and began to curse himself silently for giving into the calm the magic brought so readily. He needed to be on high alert to keep this secret, not relaxed and complacent!

He tried to keep his composure on the outside, knowing Merlin was walking next to him to attend to him as he ate, but internally his thoughts began to race.

Would his father notice something is off? What if something like last night happened again? What if his eyes began to glow? What if he said something wrong and his father found out? What if his father already knew? No, he can’t. How would he?

What if he did, though? What if he walked in, and his father sent him straight to the dungeons? He wouldn’t, would he? Then again… Morgana…

Arthur shook his head subtly, shoving away the thoughts. He didn’t need to be thinking about that… Though, part of him couldn’t help wishing Morgana was here. She told them, head held high and defiant as ever, that she had magic before she disappeared… If she had—if Morgana had stayed… Maybe she could have helped with whatever was happening to him. She couldn’t have stayed, though. No, she has magic, and she told Uther… She _had_ to leave. He just wished she didn’t… Arthur took a deep breath as he approached the doors to the Hall, trying to push his thought away from what could have been.

The guards outside opened the doors once he got close enough, and with a nod of thanks, Arthur walked inside, Merlin in tow.

“Arthur! I was beginning to wonder if you would ever show,” his father greeted him from where he sat at one end of the small table, he’d had set up for the two of them. At least, he’d thought it had been for the two of them.

“Father, my apologies. One of the new trainees needed my assistance after training concluded,” Arthur paused, his eyes flicking to the young man sitting across the table from Uther, “I was under the impression we would be dining alone…”

The man stood and bowed his head to the prince. “Ah, sincerest apologies, your highness. I am Duke Halsburn of Ashwind. I am visiting for a fortnight, on behalf of our Queen, to show loyalty and companionship between our lands. Your King has so graciously allowed me to dine with you this afternoon, as I’ve had a tiring journey.”

“I hope this is of no inconvenience to you, Arthur.” Uther narrowed his eyes in that way that Arthur immediately recognized as ‘mind yourself.’ The Prince, slightly tense from having a surprise guest with his current, ah, predicament, simply nodded. That explained the postponing of the meeting, then.

“Of course, it is an honour to welcome you to our Kingdom, your Grace.” He nodded respectfully before walking to his seat near the center of the table, between the two men. Duke Halsburn smiled kindly at him and sat back down once he was seated.

Arthur heard more than saw Merlin position himself behind and to the right of the Prince, before his goblet was being filled with deep red wine. He nodded his head in silent thanks to his servant, as a young female servant hurried to serve him his food. She gave a small bow before scurrying off once his plate was full.

“You’re too tense. I think you frightened her,” Merlin suddenly whispered in his ear as he leaned down to ‘adjust his napkin’ on the table. Arthur just huffed and rolled his eyes before waving his servant away. As he heard Merlin step back, he let himself try and relax, letting his shoulders slouch just a little. Not enough to be called improper, but enough to show a calm state.

“I do hope I’ve not interrupted any important discussion by my late arrival.” Arthur took a reasonably sized drink of his wine, as he glanced to Uther.

The older man shook his head and nodded at Halsburn. “Not at all. I was just telling the Duke here about the great success our loyal men had at subduing that group of treasonous druids recently. Not a single sorcerer made it out of there alive.” The pride in his father’s eyes as he spoke the last line had Arthur feeling ill, and would have even had he not been in his current mess.

How had he still not seen sense? Morgana was no angel, but she was not evil, and she had magic! So, not all magic could be evil! Though, Arthur was beginning to think his father cared little of that truth, beginning to feel his father enjoyed the bloodshed a little too much.

“Ah, yes,” he cleared his throat, “the men were… Most proud to have killed each and every magic user in that raid—man, woman, and child. They do not discriminate. Good men.” He hoped the unease he felt at the knowledge he was now technically a magic user, and the bitterness and contempt he felt at his father’s crusade against innocents, against _children_ , didn’t show in his voice.

If it did, Uther didn’t seem to notice as he hummed in agreement, shoveling a large bite of food into his mouth. Duke Halsburn, on the other hand, gave Arthur a strange look. Perhaps he hadn’t done as well at masking it as he thought.

“Do you not agree with the King’s laws, my Prince?” Their guest suddenly asked, tilting his head. Arthur stiffened.

“Are you doubting me, your Grace?” He retorted sharply; eyes narrowed.

Duke Halsburn shook his head quickly. “Oh, no, of course not, your Highness! It’s just… You didn’t seem most pleased recalling the memory. It seemed as if you disagreed with the idea of sorcerers being executed for their crimes.”

 _Crime of what? Living?_ Arthur thought bitterly, recalling the flicker of fear on Morgana’s face when she told him and Uther she’d been born with magic, and the shaking of her hands as they clutched the sides of her dress. The brave woman, whom he’d come to care for as a sister, standing before him and his Father looking seconds from shattering. It made him feel sick to think about. How many had been like her? Unable to control the fact they’d had magic? Like he now was? How many innocents had his father murdered in cold blood?

“Duke Halsburn, I do assure you. My son here is a firm believer in my cause,” Uther suddenly spoke, drawing Arthur from his anger-driven thoughts, “Arthur knows better than anyone, besides myself, the danger and evil of sorcery. He knows as well as I that all sorcerers _must_ be executed.”

Arthur tried to ignore the note of anxiety that licked at him at Uther’s words.

“I do not doubt that for a moment, Sire.” Halsburn nodded. He seemed to hesitate before asking, “now, though. How would this law play out if say, the practitioner was one dear to you? If say, your son, for example, was to be discovered as a sorcerer—hypothetically, my Lord, I place no accusations—would you let him be free, or would the law still stand?”

Arthur froze in his place, halfway through cutting a piece of meat. His heart stopped. Remaining anger drained from him in an instant, replaced by cold dread. He knew. How could he know? He can’t know. He’s just inquiring. It’s so specific… Oh, _gods_ , he knows. _He knows, he knows, he knows, he knows, he—_

“I am not sure I like what you are implying,” Uther’s cold voice snapped Arthur out of his silent panic.

“I know for a fact my son would never be foolish enough to mess with such evil, but if he were to,” He looked to his father with cautious eyes, holding his breath in anticipation. This was it, here it is, Arthur thought hopefully, this is where he says everything would be okay and Arthur would be safe from persecution and he’d help him and— “he would do so knowing what fate awaited him. No one is exempt from the law, Duke Halsburn, not even myself.”

A candle at the east wall exploded. A scream of fright from a young serving girl echoed through the hall. Arthur stared at his plate with wide eyes, as panic surged through him, the buzzing loud in his ears as his heart pounded against his chest and his stomach flipped and spun.

_No one is exempt from the law._

_He’d do so knowing what fate awaited him._

_No one is exempt from the law, no one is exempt from the law, no one is exempt—_

“ _Arthur_!” The Prince nearly leapt out of his skin, spinning around in his seat to face the man behind the voice, only to see Merlin staring at him with wide, concerned eyes. He glanced back to the table, to see the Duke and his father gone, before glancing around frantically to find them. He wished he could say he relaxed when his eyes finally spotted them, inspecting the exploded candle and questioning the frightened serving girl, but it only sent a new rush of terror through him,

They were going to realize it’s magic. They were going to know it was him. Arthur was going to be sentenced to die by his own father. Arthur was going to—

“Arthur!” Again, Merlin’s voice tore him back to reality and out of his spiral. “Arthur, come on. I—I’m taking you back to your chambers.”

When he simply nodded and stood, hands shaking against his will, he noticed a flash of worry on Merlin’s face. Right…Normally he would have argued, or snapped some stupid insult. He could hardly breathe now, though, let alone throw some petty retort to the man who was trying to get him out of here when he must have been obviously shaken.

Merlin led the Prince out of the Hall and down the corridor; he looked tense as Arthur felt. Arthur just bit the inside of his cheek, clenching and unclenching his fists as they walked to his rooms.

No sooner than the doors had such behind them, Merlin was locking them and whirling around to face Arthur.

“ _You have magic_!” He hissed, eyes wide and arms flailing.

Arthur felt the colour drain from his face and he backed away a bit, shaking his head.

“No, I don’t,” he lied through his teeth. “You’re speaking treason, _Mer_ lin, watch it.”

Merlin just scoffed in disbelief. “You don’t— _dammit_ , Arthur! I can _feel_ it _radiating off you!_ It’s pouring from you like a damn _waterfall_! You made that candle explode! _Gods,_ it feels so _frightened_ —how long? How long have you had magic? Don’t try to deny it again, I know when you’re lying, remember.”

His shoulders drooped at the reminder. He wasn’t running off to tell Uther, yet, though, so maybe… “Last night,” he forced out, taking a breath, “I—the sorceress… I knew something was up when she shot that gold light into me, but I never… I found out last night. I woke up, and the window was open, and then the candles lit, and then my eyes, my _eyes_ were _gold_ , Merlin. My father… He’ll kill me if he finds out _, for something I didn’t even have a choice in_ , you heard him just now, I can’t—you can’t tell my father, I know I’m asking you to commit treason but, Merlin, _you cannot tell the King_.”

Merlin’s expression softened and he stepped closer. “Oh, _Arthur_ … I—” He cut himself off, biting his lip, “I’m so sorry. You must be so… Terrified. You’ve got this new power, and instead of having someone to help you figure it out and tell you it’s going to be okay; you have to listen to your _own father_ openly say he’d have you executed. You don’t deserve that, no one deserves that. Gods, Arthur, why didn’t you tell me about the light?! I could have been researching already and on my way to finding a solution…”

Ignoring the first half of his speech, Arthur looked away. “I didn’t think it was anything important…” He paused, “Wait. Merlin. How… Did you _feel_ the magic?”

Now it was Merlin’s turn to tense up. His shoulders straightened as he stiffened, before slumping down with a sigh. “I was…” He hesitated, taking a deep breath.

“I was born with magic.” Arthur inhaled sharply, his eyes widening. His thoughts flickered back to Morgana. He was like her… Was he as frightened as her eyes showed she was when Uther called for the guards? “I was planning on telling you! I was! Just… When you were King, so you didn’t have to choose between your father and I… I didn’t want to put you in that position, especially if he found out. You deserve to know, though, to know you’re not alone right now. Believe it or not, I understand a thing or two about fearing execution for simply being alive.” Merlin laughed drily. Any last doubts about magic being inherently evil were quashed by the knowledge that Merlin of all people had it. _Merlin._ Sweet, kind Merlin…

Arthur supposed he should be mad. He really did. He supposed he should feel angry, and betrayed, but… “I understand why you didn’t tell me…” He said softly, Merlin’s last sentence making his heart ache, “I—the pure _fear_ I felt when the Duke even _implied_ , I had magic… It must be nothing compared to what you feel, what you’ve felt your whole life. Merlin, I am so sorry you’ve lived with this fear. Even now, I have you to guide me— _oh, that’s a strange thought_ —I have you to guide me, but you must’ve been so alone.”

“No, not always,” Merlin gave a small, sad smile, “I had my mother and… Will… In Ealdor, and here… I have Gaius. None of them may practice, though Gaius used to, but having them to talk to is nice. I had Morgana for a short time before she asked me to help her leave to train to become a Priestess… It was hard when she left. I realized that it’s different, better, when you have someone to practice with.”

Arthur nodded slowly, for some reason not surprised he and Morgana practiced together. It explained a lot, really. “So, that’s where she went?”

“Yeah. She, ah, well… I couldn’t keep training her here, it was too dangerous, too many nights almost-caught. So, I met with a few druids and they helped us find a way for her to train and study away from Camelot. I didn’t want her to leave, but she was so excited by the idea…” Merlin trailed off. Huh… _He_ trained _her_?

“You just couldn’t say no?”

“Exactly.”

A moment of silence passed between them before Arthur broke it. “I almost told you this morning,” he admitted, making Merlin look at him curiously.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah…”

“Let me guess,” Merlin paused, a knowing look on his face, “you were about to tell me, and then, all of the sudden your thoughts were just _flooded_ with all that could go wrong and even though you know I wouldn’t do anything to endanger you, it’s all you could think of?”

Arthur’s eyes bulged out of his head in shock, making Merlin chuckle softly. “How did you know?!”

The Sorcerer just grinned. “Do you know how many times I’ve wanted to tell you about my magic, Arthur?”

“...And it’s always like that?” The Prince’s heart ached at the thought of Merlin being afraid of him.

“Sometimes,” Merlin shrugged. “Others it just wasn’t the right time.”

Silence fell over them once more. Arthur walked over to his bed and slowly sat down on the duvet, motioning for Merlin to sit beside him. The sorcerer looked a little surprised, but walked over and sat next to him nonetheless. They sat in the quiet for a few more moments before Arthur broke the silence yet again.

“Can you…show me?”

“Show you?” Merlin tilted his head, not quite catching on. Arthur wiggled his fingers, before elaborating,

“Magic. I… Want to see it, from you. I want to _see_ the good I’m learning it can bring.” 

Merlin’s eyes seemed to light up at the words, and he smiled softly as he nodded. Then, he cupped his hands together, holding eye contact with Arthur as he breathed, “ _bl_ _ē_ _weþ_ _hæswalwe_ _blanc.”_

Arthur stared with wide, awestruck eyes as blue melted to brilliant gold—nothing like the yellow he’d seen in the woman who spelled him, or the dull, muddy gold in himself. When gold faded back to blue, Arthur slowly looked down to Merlin’s hands, to see a beautiful blossom of white Aster being held out to him.

He quickly looked up to Merlin’s face when he identified the flower, only to see him looking away with a faint blush. Carefully, Arthur took the flower and held it close, looking at it again as he felt his own face heat up a little. By his reaction, Arthur could only assume Merlin knew the meaning behind the brilliant flower he’d presented the Prince with. He didn’t comment on it, though, just in case he’d read the situation wrong. Instead, he bit his lip, holding the flower close to his chest. _Aster, a symbol of deep love and affection…_

“I can’t believe I’m asking this…” He sighed after a moment, earning a Gaius worthy raised eyebrow from Merlin, “Could you… Teach me? Like how you helped Morgana. You must be good with magic if you helped train her, so… Could you help me get a handle on the magic and… maybe teach me how to properly wield it? You know, so I don’t go blowing up more candles in front of my father and get us both executed.”

By the way Merlin’s eyes lit up, it was the right thing to ask.

“You want to… Learn how to use your new magic?” He confirmed.

Arthur nodded. “Yes, I mean, while Gaius is trying to figure out what she did to me to give me this…power…because I assume, he’s trustworthy if he knows of your magic, so we should tell him. But him looking for answers won’t keep me from accidentally lighting my room on fire because I don’t know how to control this. So, I’d like you to show me how to use it, or at least, get a handle on it.”

“Right. Right!” Merlin grinned widely, “Of course! I have missed having a student… But we’ll have to wait until night—best to do it outside the castle to prevent getting caught. Morgana and I used to go to this clearing not far off, I’ll take you there tonight, just after the Castle’s settled for the evening. Relieve your guards for the night, so we don’t have to creep by them. I can tell Gaius for you, if you’d like.”

“Alright. Yeah, okay, please do. Save me the trouble of him telling him I lied to his face,” Arthur muttered before smiling hesitantly at his manservant, “be here once the sky is dark and castle is asleep.”

Merlin nodded eagerly. “I’ll be here! And Arthur?” His grin softened to a reassuring smile.

“Yes?”

“You’re going to be just fine. Your father will never know, you don’t have to be afraid anymore, I can help you. I’ll always help you,” he murmured.

Arthur felt his heart stutter at the way Merlin looked at him as he spoke such kind, gentle words. He found himself at a loss for words, simply nodding.

“Right, I’m going to go tell Gaius and make sure Eliana is alright—she’s the girl who was near the exploded candle,” Merlin stood up, stretching as he did so. Arthur nodded and watched as Merlin headed for the door. Once his friend got to it, and began unlocking it, Arthur called out,

“And Merlin! Get me a vase, and some water, while you’re out. For the Aster.”

Even this far away, Arthur could see the way Merlin’s face lit up, his ears surely burning, as he squeaked out, “Yes, Sire!” and hurried out.

* * *

Arthur really should have been concerned about how easy it was for he and his manservant to sneak out of the castle that night. In this case it was in his benefit, though, so he merely pushed the thought aside.

He kept quiet as he trailed behind Merlin, out of his rooms, out of the castle, into the trees…

“Here we are!” Merlin suddenly proclaimed, stopping without warning. Arthur stumbled to a stop _just_ in time not to run into the Warlock.

He stepped out from behind Merlin, and glanced around the small clearing they’d come to. It was nice, quaint. It wasn’t too large, but large enough for one on one training and sparring. The grass was vibrant green, which was a surprising change from the dull green to dying brown that had been around them on their way. The trees formed an almost unnaturally perfect circle around them, and all the trees were grown so closely that it almost looked like they were shielding the clearing from view. It was strange, and looked almost… Man-made… But that was impossible. No one could have—

“Merlin…Just how powerful are you?” The Prince asked abruptly, his eyes wide as he stared around, “Surely you didn’t…You couldn’t…Did you _make_ this?”

A soft chuckle to his left drew his eyes back to the man in question instead of the beauty that was the mini clearing in front of him. “Well… Morgana and I needed a place to practice that was close by but fairly out of sight. So… I worked with nature and my magic and…”

Merlin motioned around them. “Even after Morgana left, I still continued to come out here just to release my magic,” he pauses, “it’s um… It’s not good to keep it bottled up. There! First lesson of the night! It’s not good to keep your magic bottled up, you need to use it, to release it frequently. Well, you may not need to as much as me, but you still need to, just as a precaution.”

Arthur snapped out of his bubble of wonder at the revelation Merlin could do something like this, to raise an eyebrow in confusion and minor concern.

“I almost don’t want to ask, but what happens when you don’t release it or use it frequently?”

Merlin seemed to hesitate. “Well… First you’ll get sick, in a way, antsy and anxious, and if you hold it in for two long, it will begin to lash out. How it lashes out depends on how you feel when it does, at least, that’s how it is for me. My magic tends to match my emotions… You being the crown Prince, you’re under a heavy amount of stress on the daily, not to mention the new stress of being a sorcerer… It would be dangerous for you to get to that point. Your magic would not be gentle, it would lash out with your stress and fear, and potentially expose you.”

Well. Yes, that sounded just spectacular. “Right, release magic frequently. Got it.”

“It really shouldn’t be a problem with us coming out here to teach you,” Merlin assured him, smiling, “even if we can’t come out every night—which we most definitely cannot—I’ll teach you a few small things first that you can do in your chambers without getting caught.”

Arthur nodded slowly. “Like what?”

“Like…” Merlin paused, thinking, “Oh! Like lighting candles and putting them out, or conjuring a small ball of light!”

“Alright. Alright, that sounds easy enough!”

It was not easy enough.

By the time they finished for the evening, the night sky was beginning to lighten, signaling sun would be rising soon, and Arthur was _exhausted_.

Magic was not as easy as it sounded!

He could conjure a ball of light now, though! As for the fire… Well, if he wanted to set the whole room on fire, he could! The fire was temperamental, he needed to learn to control it. Merlin had managed to sneak candles with them for him to practice on, and he either blew up or melted every one without properly lighting it because he couldn’t gather control of the flame or summon one small enough. And putting it out with magic was even harder. If anything, his magic just fueled the fire to burn brighter when he tried to extinguish it.

Merlin was very patient, though, and helped him not get too frustrated. He let Arthur take a small break when he needed it to compose himself, and during one of those breaks he explained to Arthur how he’d been keeping Arthur safe since he came to the kingdom, how the druids called him Emrys, and how they said he was the physical embodiment of magic, that he _was_ magic itself.

 _That_ was a little hard to process, and at first Arthur thought he was joking, until the Warlock suddenly stood in the middle of the clearing and let the magic just pour from him. His eyes melted to a gold brighter than he’d ever seen, and the clearing flourished with life. Flowers bloomed all over, trees sprouted fruits he didn’t even know they could grow, the grass grew taller and impossibly greener, the clouds cleared from the sky above the clearing and the birds seemed to wake just to greet them, before slowly it all went back to normal and Merlin’s eyes faded back to blue.

No incantation, seemingly effortless, he didn’t even seem a bit winded from the show of power. Arthur was amazed. He knew without a doubt he would _never_ be able to do anything even close to that. The level of control he showed, the level of _effortless_ control he showed, bringing life to the clearing then taking it away…

Arthur wondered, when he was back in the warmth of his chambers with Merlin tending to his fire, if it should have frightened him. He looked at Merlin in that moment, as he brought their training grounds to life, and he knew Merlin could level kingdoms if he so wished. Yet, here he stayed, loyal by Arthur’s side, teaching him how to use the magic he’d unwillingly obtained, and protecting him for since he arrived in Camelot…

“ _Ancymþ l_ _ē_ _oman,”_ Arthur whispered in the silence of his room as he laid back on his pillows in his bed, right hand outstretched in front of himself. He couldn’t help the grin that danced on his face when moments after the words left his mouth, a bright but gentle white ball of light bloomed into existence, hovering over the palm of his hand. It was small, maybe the size of an apple, but he felt a sense of pride looking at it nonetheless.

He looked up when he heard footsteps approaching the bed, to see Merlin walking over with a wide grin. “You caught on to that spell fast,” he commented, nodding at the light. Arthur just shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about it, as he closed his hand into a fist, extinguishing the light.

“Get some rest, Arthur. You’ve not got much on the schedule tomorrow, aside from morning training and the council meeting in the afternoon, but Gaius wants to meet with us both so he can talk about your new situation,” Merlin sighed softly, stretching as he stood at the foot of Arthur’s bed. “Probably wants to have the practicing safe magic talk with you, and get some more details about the spell that was cast. If you get to sleep now, you can get in a few hours before I have to come wake you, meaning I can get a few hours before I have to come wake you. So…”

Arthur raised an eyebrow at the brunet, who just grinned cheekily. “Get some sleep, prat. I’m tired,” he ordered (yes, _ordered!_ ) before leaving without dismissal.

The Prince just huffed and buried himself into his blankets. _Well._ Might as well try to get those few hours rest…

* * *

The next morning came far too soon for Arthur’s liking.

The sun burst through his window and flowed into his room, bathing him in its bright glow.

“Wake up! Gaius wants to see you first thing!”

Arthur groaned at the voice of his sorcerous manservant, and rolled over onto his stomach before burying his face into his pillow. It blocked his breathing, but it also blocked out the light. This could work…

“Arthur! Come on!” Or not, he sighed in despair as Merlin ripped his blanket off of him roughly, leaving him exposed to the cold air of his chambers. A shiver ran through him as the cold bit his bare skin. Suddenly, he was regretting not wearing a shirt to bed.

With a loud, annoyed huff of frustration, Arthur finally sat up, shooting Merlin a dark glare. The Warlock, most unsurprisingly, just chuckled at the Prince’s ‘wrath’ as he walked over to where Arthur’s breakfast sat on the table and snatched a chunk of cheese.

Arthur raised an eyebrow at this, but just rolled his eyes and pushed himself out of bed. “Why must we see Gaius so early, Merlin?”

“You’ve got a morning training and a council meeting right after. Gaius wants to speak to you before you get caught up in your duties,” Merlin explained as if it were obvious, before popping the cheese in his mouth with a satisfied hum. Arthur sighed softly, watching the servant happily eat his food. Honestly, the damn sorcerer might as well bring two plates up, he steals from Arthur’s enough…

Then again, Arthur does _let_ him steal from his plate… Arthur shook his head and stopped his train of thought there. If he started to dwell on _why,_ well, he may not make it out of his chambers until much later.

“Right, well, stop thieving my breakfast like a common rat and come dress me, then,” Arthur ordered, a playful tone to his voice.

Merlin groaned in protest, but stopped picking at the food tray and did as he was told nonetheless.

* * *

When they finally made it to the Physician’s quarters, Arthur was immediately subjected to Gaius’ signature, accusatory raised eyebrow.

“Gaius,” Arthur nodded to the old physician, cautiously. “You wanted to see me?”

Gaius just sighed and motioned for Merlin to shut the door, which Arthur heard more than saw him hurry to do. “Don’t play daft, Arthur, it’s rather unflattering for a prince. You know why you’re here.”

“Right, yes. Yes, I do,” Arthur winced barely before adding, “I… regret lying, I should not have done that.”

“What’s done, is done, we cannot change the past,” Gaius hummed, leading Merlin and Arthur to his table, where he nodded for them to sit across from him, “we can only learn and do better in future.”

Arthur nodded slowly as he sat down beside Merlin, both of them facing Gaius. It was only then Arthur noticed all the books strewn across the table, open and clearly of magic. His eyes widened in recognition as he stared at them all. How had he hidden all this from Uther?!

“Now… Straight into business. Merlin has told me what you told him, but I need more details.” Gaius glanced from Merlin to Arthur, that eyebrow raised once more as he waited.

The Prince shot Merlin a wary look, and when the warlock smiled in return, he sighed and slumped down.

“The Sorceress spoke a long spell, I can’t… I can’t recall the words; they were in that weird language—”

“The language of the Old Religion,” Merlin provided, to which Arthur nodded.

“Yes, that. She said my name towards the end, though, and when she stopped speaking, this golden light was pulled from inside her and almost…Shot into my chest, where her hand was on my heart—oh yeah, that too! She held one hand to the sky, and pressed the other over my heart,” he frowned as he recalled the memory, “then… She just, well, she just collapsed…dead.”

Gaius’ frown progressively deepened as Arthur spoke. It was worrying… Arthur didn’t like the reaction he was having. Was this bad? Was something going to happen? Was the magic not the only symptom? Was it—

“Did she happen to say anything before this? Perhaps a name?” Gaius questioned. Arthur wasn’t sure why it was important, but he shrugged and thought back to a few days back when it happened.

“She didn’t give me a name, no…” Arthur shook his head slowly, brows furrowed in a frown of his own, “but she said something about being a high priestess, or almost being one? I think? Before having to flee? She was mad at me for not doing anything to stop my father, no, she was furious… She mentioned the prophecy Merlin told me about, about us… I think she was mad we haven’t fulfilled it…”

He paused for a moment before jumping slightly as he remembered, “she told me I would feel the fear of her kin. Does that mean something?”

His hope was squashed when Gaius faced him with a grim look. _So, it does mean something,_ Arthur noted with a grimace, _just nothing good._

“I feared this,” the old man murmured with a sigh, as he flipped through possibly the oldest looking book on the table. Arthur felt Merlin tense beside him at his guardian’s negative words, and almost subconsciously scooted closer to him, so their shoulders were pressed just barely together. He bit back a smile when he felt Merlin relax at the touch.

“Here.” Gaius pointed to an aged, yellowing page, suddenly reminding Arthur why he was there. He leaned over the table a bit to see what he was looking at. “It’s… It’s an incredibly old spell, or ritual more like. Though, perhaps petition would be the most proper word…”

At both Merlin and Arthur’s twin looks of impatient worry, Gaius cleared his throat and continued, “there was frequent, heated debates over whether it deserved to be forbidden for the severity of the sacrifice demanded by the caster. They never ended up forbidding it, though, due to the level of power needed to use it, only someone like a High Priestess or a promising pupil of one could perform it… Many called it the Ritual of Transference, but it was called also by the Petition of Transference.”

“What is it?” Merlin beat Arthur to the question, “how do we reverse it?”

Gaius gave them a joyless, apologetic smile and Arthur’s stomach plummeted.

“It’s… Irreversible.” It was almost funny how two worlds could make Arthur’s world stutter to a stop. “The only way known to reverse it would be to have Arthur perform the Ritual of Transference.”

“I’ll do it,” Arthur immediately said, eyes wide. “It’s the only way, but it’s a way! Merlin can help me work up to it, get good enough. I can do it.”

A sigh shattered through Arthur’s hope, and Gaius shook his head. “My boy, it’s not that easy, I’m afraid…”

“Well, why not?!” Arthur exclaimed, feeling rather exasperated and frustrated with this whole thing.

“Gaius, what’re you not telling us?” Merlin asked, calmer than Arthur, but still with an anxious tone to his voice.

The physician grimaced, looking as if pained.

“The ritual…demands the caster sacrifice their own life as payment,” he said quietly, rendering both young men silent and slack-jawed. “that is why the sorceress died upon completion of the ritual. It—the ritual, it is a petition to the Goddess of Sorcery, Thyriadd, to transfer one’s magic into another, offering their life as payment to the Goddess for her work transferring magic from one to another. The people who would cast such a spell, they did so willingly, and not without good reason, and they saw it as an honour to be taken by Thyriadd herself, seeing her as the Great Mother of Magic, and therefore saw their sacrifice in Her name as a way to ‘go home to her’ while also sharing her Blessing with another at the same time before they die. There is no way to reverse what is done because it is permanent, unless you perform the ritual yourself, but you cannot because it would kill you.”

Tense silence filled the room as Gaius concluded his explanation. Arthur’s world was spinning.

Oh, _gods_ , it was too early and Arthur was too sober for this…

* * *

That evening, Arthur and Merlin sat across from each other in the clearing, the sky free of clouds overhead and the moon shining light upon them. Arthur knew he should be paying attention to whatever Merlin was trying to teach him, but he just couldn’t. All he could think about, all he’d been able to think about all day was the conversation with Gaius.

Permanent… He said it was permanent. The son of the King of Camelot, permanently stuck with magic coursing through his veins because of a vengeful sorceress with a death wish.

How is supposed to hide _magic_ from his _father_ for the rest of the man’s life? It wasn’t like with Merlin—Uther didn’t _know_ Merlin; Merlin was easy to lie about. Arthur is his _son_ , though! Surely, he’ll find out! He’ll notice something! Then again… He never noticed Morgana… But Arthur’s not Morgana. He’ll notice. Surely, he’ll—

“Arthur? Arthur, are you even listening?” The Prince blinked a few times as he came out of his thoughts. Merlin was frowning deeply at him, concern covering his face. “You need to pay attention, Arthur. It’s more important than ever now that you learn how to keep the magic under control so you don’t expose yourself now that… We know it’s irreversible.”

Arthur bit the inside of his cheek, and took a deep breath. Fuck. “Are we really sure it’s irreversible? Maybe Gaius just missed something.” He cringed internally at the hope that slipped into his voice. The hope that was immediately crushed by the apologetic look on Merlin’s face.

“I searched all day, Arthur. I even slipped out and met with a couple druids after lunch. There’s…It’s impossible to reverse,” Merlin murmured, leaning forward and placing a hand on Arthur’s knee. He really did sound sorry… “I’m supposed to be _magic incarnate_ and the druids still said there’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry, Arthur, gods, you’ve no idea how sorry I am. I’ll keep looking, I’ll even try to get in touch with Morgana, see if she or the druids she’s undergoing her training with know anything. Right now, though, we need to keep working… Because this practice is going to save your ass in the long run.”

Arthur nodded slowly, just taking a moment to process his words. He didn’t realize how much hope he’d still had left that Merlin could find a solution Gaius hadn’t until Merlin finished talking and Arthur felt even more hopeless than he had before. After all, like he said, Merlin was supposed to be Magic Incarnate (at least that’s what he said), and even he couldn’t fix him… He was stuck like this… He really was stuck like this—a sorcerer in the court of Uther Pendragon… How did Merlin do it? Arthur sighed softly.

“Right. Okay. Right, yeah,” he finally broke the silence, staring down at Merlin’s hand still on his knee. “So… What was that spell you were showing me?”

To Arthur’s relief, Merlin took the change of subject for what it was and launched into an explanation about the spell he’d been teaching earlier. And if he moved over so they were sitting side by side with their shoulders pressed together as he demonstrated and walked the Prince through casting…Well, neither felt the need to disrupt the moment.

* * *

“Arthur!” Merlin yelped as he entered the Prince’s chambers, his eyes wide as he took in the sight of four small golden balls of light floating over Arthur’s head where he sat slouching at his desk.

Arthur shot upright in a panic, his eyes snapping to Merlin as the lights disappear with a word and flash of gold. Merlin let out a strangled noise before quickly closing and locking the door. A wave of guilt flashed through Arthur at the look of subdued panic in his manservants eyes as he rushed over to close the drapes after locking the door.

“Gods, Arthur, you’re worse than _I_ am!” The Warlock accused, earning a huff from the Prince. “You are so _lucky_ it had only been me who walked in!”

It had been about a month since they found out his magic was permanent and while Merlin hadn’t stopped looking for a way to reverse it, they’d both pretty much accepted it to be how things were by now, even if it made life a lot more difficult for them both.

Unfortunately, Arthur’s continued and quick improvement (especially in the Healing Arts, to Merlin’s frustration and surprise it seemed) in lessons meant he thought he could be more reckless with his magic. As in, he had a bad habit of forgetting to lock the door or close the blinds or (gods forbid) both when practicing magic in his chambers. It took Arthur a moment to realize Merlin was still talking, and he silently cursed when he did, hoping the brunet hadn’t noticed him drift into thought.

“…really need to be more careful an—oh my gods, I sound like _Gaius_ ,” Merlin gasped in horror, as he dropped onto the edge of Arthur’s bed. Any other time Arthur would have laughed, but as he let his gaze travel over Merlin’s tense, anxious form, he found that nothing felt funny. His stomach lurched, and not in a good way, at the realization that he was the reason Merlin was so worried.

“I’m sorry.” The words tumbled from his lips before he could even think them, and Merlin’s eyes snapped to him in clear shock. Seeing no point in turning back now, Arthur stood from his chair and walked over to Merlin, kneeling in front of where he sat on the bed. “I’m sorry, Merlin. I was careless, I forgot. I should have made sure the space was safe before doing anything, no matter how bored I was with reading grain reports.”

His manservant stared, clearly speechless at him for a moment, before a stupid grin broke out on his face.

“Wow, Arthur, I’m impressed…” Arthur raised an eyebrow, prompting Merlin to continue, regretting it slightly when he did. “I didn’t think you were capable of sincere apologies, what with that pride of yours.” 

The Prince let out an exasperated groan and shoved Merlin’s shoulder as he stood up and walked back to his desk. “Can’t you ever just let me be _nice_ , Merlin?”

“ _You? Nice?_ That’s got to be an oxymoron,” Merlin smirked, following him over and standing in front of the desk as Arthur sat down.

Arthur feigned surprise as he looked at Merlin across the desk. “ _Oxymoron_ … Big word, _Mer_ lin, you sure you know what it means?”

Merlin just scoffed and rolled his eyes. “ _Prat_.”

A grin fought its way onto Arthur’s face, and he watched as Merlin’s expression mimicked his own. His heart leapt in his chest at the look of happiness in the Warlock’s eyes, and the urge to yank him across the desk and kiss him senseless hit him like a falling tree on the forest floor. He felt his face heat as a blush rose to his cheeks at the mere thought.

Merlin raised an eyebrow, and Arthur was _sure_ he was about to comment on it, when suddenly there was a loud knock on the door, followed by a familiar voice.

“Sire, the King orders your presence in the throne room immediately,” Leon called through the door. “I’ve been directed to tell you it is urgent.”

“Thank you, Leon, I’ll be right there,” Arthur called back after a moment of confused silence. Footsteps growing quieter signaled Leon leaving, and Arthur stared at the door for a moment.

He glanced to Merlin, shooting him a questioning look, only to receive a shrug in response. Strange…

“Well, best not keep my father waiting,” Arthur breathed out, rising from his chair yet again. Merlin shot him a strange look, before nodding and walking to the door.

Arthur followed him, allowing Merlin to hold the door open for him as he walked out. 

They arrived at the throne room quickly, having walked the way there in uneasy silence. Neither had any idea what the King could be wanting to see Arthur for. As they stopped right outside the doors, no guards in sight (a fact that made Arthur wary), Arthur felt a hand grasp his own and squeeze gently. Surprised, the Prince immediately looked to Merlin, eyes widening just a fraction. Merlin pulled back his hand and gave Arthur a small, reassuring smile that did funny things to the blond’s chest.

“It’ll be fine, I’m sure it’s nothing,” Merlin hummed quietly, before adding with a stupid (yet, oddly forced looking) grin, “he probably just wants to badger you about marriage, hasn’t done that in a while.”

Arthur scoffed softly. “I don’t know why he insists. I’ve told him, I am not marrying some princess to make him happy,” he paused, catching Merlin’s eyes, “I’m marrying for _love._ ”

The Warlock’s expression softened, his grin seeming a little less forced, and he nudged Arthur playfully in the shoulder. “Yeah, ‘cause you’re a sap like that.”

A smile danced on Arthur’s lips before he turned to face the door again. He didn’t know what this thing between him and Merlin was. It was nice, but it didn’t feel like friendship. No, it felt like almost more… It felt like they were dancing on ice, yet neither seemed ready to take the dive and shatter the delicate surface of the frozen lake that holds their hearts. Instead, they spun around each other, narrowly avoiding collision as they danced, teasing and flirting, seeing how thick the ice was only to move just before it cracked. He wondered if they’d find the courage to break the ice soon, or if they’d dance forever…

“We should go in,” Merlin cut through Arthur’s silent musings, his voice low and filled with poorly masked worry. Arthur couldn’t help but be glad he wasn’t the only one concerned about why his father summoned him.

With a nod, Arthur opened the door and walked in, Merlin on his heel. When he walked in, Arthur was surprised to see Duke Halsburn—who had extended his stay at Uther’s personal request, much to Arthur’s displeasure—standing to the right, a metre and a half away from the throne Uther sat upon, as Leon stood by the inside of the door guarding it with Sir Kay opposite him. Upon seeing the Duke, Arthur was immediately on edge. It was only thanks to years of training he kept his face blank with indifference as his eyes scanned the room, while in reality he was already on alert.

“Father,” Arthur nodded his head respectfully to the King, “you summoned me?”

The man before him was tense: his shoulders were stiff, jaw clenched, eyebrows furrowed in a deep frown, and his lips drawn tightly together into a thin, grim line. Dread washed through Arthur; something was very wrong.

“Arthur, yes, you took your time getting here… I said it was urgent.” Uther narrowed his eyes slightly, and Arthur bowed his head in respect.

“I apologize, sire. I am here now, what is the matter?”

Uther stayed silent for a moment, eyeing Arthur critically before raising his chin higher, looking down his nose to the Prince and his manservant (although, he ignored the latter). “Duke Halsburn came to me reporting that witnessed the work of sorcery in the woods last night while he was on a ride.”

As soon as the words left his father’s mouth, Arthur felt like a bucket of ice had been dumped on him. He felt his shoulders tense, as his jaw clenched just barely, and his heart sped up. He and Merlin had been out in the woods practicing last night. Arthur had got excited over nailing a new spell, and reckless, and on their way back he…

He thought it would be fine, he didn’t think anyone would see, it was so late… It was dark, he was overly confident, he enjoys summoning the lights Merlin taught him—it reminds him of the light that saved him when Merlin was poisoned (which he has realized was actually Merlin). He didn’t think there would be anyone out that late, or early, _whatever!_ He got them caught! He just had to call the light… He didn’t think it was that bright, really. Oh, gods, he got them caught, he got them _caught_! This is _exactly_ what Merlin was talking about before!

No, no, he can’t freak out. They could handle this! Right? Right, right. Merlin’s handled worse, he told Arthur.

“You are to ready and take out a patrol immediately,” Uther kept speaking, unaware of his son’s internal crisis. “Find the sorcerer, and bring him back. The Duke will show you to the area he spotted the sorcerer.”

Arthur nodded, holding his composure. “Of course,” he paused, “but, if the Duke spotted this sorcerer last night, how are we to know he did not already flee?”

His eyes almost unconsciously flitted to Halsburn, just in time to see him wipe a smirk off his face. Oh gods, he _knew_. No, how would he know? It’s just a coincidence. Arthur let’s his gaze go back to his father quickly, who was now glaring.

“You _will_ find the sorcerer, Arthur,” Uther ordered, “it has not been long, he could not have gone far even if he’s tried to flee. Now, go, you are dismissed. Hurry out. You will meet the Duke at the tree line in half a candlemark.”

The Prince nodded and gave a small bow to his father before turning and heading for the door. “Come, Merlin,” He muttered as he passed the brunet. Merlin quickly followed after him.

They walked in tense silence back to his chambers, heading down the corridor at a fast pace. Once they arrived, Arthur held the door open for Merlin before shutting and locking it behind them both, before immediately spinning to face his servant.

“He saw us!” He hissed; his eyes wide as he stared at a pale Merlin. “He saw me! He saw me conjure the light! What was he even doing out that late?! _Fuck_ , Merlin!”

Merlin bit his lip as he began to pace around the room. “Okay. Okay… Don’t panic.”

 _“Don’t panic?!”_ Arthur exclaimed incredulously, obviously panicking. Like a sensible person.

Merlin stopped pacing to shoot him a glare, but when Arthur caught his eyes, his gaze softened to something more reassuring.

“ _Don’t panic,”_ he reaffirmed, before calmly explaining, “look, we can’t figure out what to do if we’re too busy freaking out. Trust me, you’ve no idea how many times I’ve done this.” Arthur felt a small pang in his chest at those words. “If Duke Halsburn knew that it was you, or me for that matter, he would have just accused us, especially me. That means, he doesn’t know who he saw. _We_ don’t even know if it was us. So just, take a breath… Put that prattish princely persona back on, and lead your knights in the search for a sorcerer you won’t find.”

Arthur hesitated, then nodded slowly and took a deep breath. Merlin’s right. Oh, yeah, that’s something he’ll never say aloud. He is, though. They’ll never get through this unscathed if Arthur doesn’t quit panicking. He was over-reacting, surely. Yes… Yes, it would all be fine. What was he thinking? He huffed out a small laugh and ran his fingers through his hair.

“…Prattish princely persona?” He finally asked, a touch of amusement masking the still lingering anxiety in his voice. Merlin snorted, rolling his eyes.

“Well, it’s an accurate description of how you act.”

This time, the deep breath he took was not to ease his anxiety. “ _Merlin_ …”

“Let’s go?”

“Let’s just get this over with.” 

* * *

The Duke led them deep into the trees, Arthur’s anxiety growing the closer they got to the clearing he and Merlin trained in. To the Prince’s relief, they ended up going straight past it without even noticing it, something Arthur assumed he had Merlin’s concealment charms to thank for because one look at the clearing blooming with more life than the surrounding area would be evidence enough of magic use in the area.

In the end, to Arthur’s combined surprise, relief, and slight horror, they ended up being attacked by a group of bandits, one of which turned out to be a sorcerer. Arthur and the knights (with the unseen assistance of Merlin), quickly disposed of the bandits that didn’t flee, and detained the sorcerer. Arthur rode back with Merlin at his side and the Duke behind him, a twinge of guilt and fear running through him when he thought about how he was bringing this man to his death.

As Leon lead the sorcerer in with Duke Halsburn and to the throne room to face Uther, Arthur hung back a moment with Merlin.

“He attacked us,” Merlin murmured, as if sensing his lingering guilt. “He used his magic to try and kill us…”

“It could have been one of us,” Arthur reminded him softly as they stood in the nearly empty courtyard.

Merlin sighed.

“It could have…But it wasn’t. I’m not happy, Arthur, to see my kin paraded around like an example used to drill fear into the hearts of men and women and children, and it hurts to watch people like me—like us, now, I suppose—murdered by the King,” he kept his voice low and Arthur felt a new surge of guilt run through him at his words, “but I can’t save them all, and neither can you. Especially not the ones who openly try to _kill you_ in front of your men.”

Arthur bit his bottom lip, worrying it between his teeth a moment before letting out a sigh. He ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. “Let’s get inside before my father notices I am not present at the sentencing.”

He didn’t wait for Merlin to reply before leading him inside. Of course, he wasn’t upset with the fact that the man who tried to kill him was being held accountable for his crime, but it was the fact that he came so close to being caught. It made him uneasy. Just the thought that it easily could have been him or Merlin caught, and dragged to the throne room to be sentenced to death. He shudders involuntarily at the idea of his father ordering him to the pyre.

They managed to slip in and Arthur took his place beside his father, luckily only receiving a questioning look as he did so, before the sentencing actually took place. Arthur bit the inside of his cheek when his father sentenced the man to death at dawn, not for attempted assassination of the Prince, but solely for practicing sorcery.

Leon and Kay escorted the sorcerer out in chains once he was dismissed to the dungeons, and after a quick debrief on the events of the search aside from finding the man, Arthur headed off to his chambers with Merlin to rest.

“Things were close today,” Arthur sighed as soon as his door was shut, “I was careless and almost got us both caught.”

He walked over and dropped onto his bed, watching as a frown formed on Merlin’s face. He hesitated a moment before motioning to beside him on the bed. “Sit with me… It’s been a stressful day, and it’ll be a stressful morning.”

Merlin sighed softly and walked over, sitting down carefully next to him. “I won’t let you be caught, Arthur,” he said after another few moments of silence.

“I will do…Everything in my power to make sure you never get discovered.” His tone was so firm, so final, Arthur found it almost impossible not to believe him. “This… This isn’t reversible, and that puts you in constant danger, lying to everyone, and your father… But I swear it to you, Arthur, I will stop at _nothing_ to keep you safe.”

The devotion in his eyes and words was almost overwhelming. Arthur was positive Merlin had more than enough on his plate trying to keep _himself_ from being discovered, so why? Why add more? He had his suspicions, but he didn’t want to assume…

Arthur couldn’t even admit aloud how he felt for the warlock, yet he stayed so loyal, so devoted to him, when surely, he must think he’s nothing more than a friend at most, even though he’s so much more… Arthur took a deep breath.

“Why?” He found himself asking, needing to hear the answer spoken out loud.

Merlin looked more than a little startled by the question, and moved closer so their thighs were pressed together as he placed his hand on Arthur’s knee.

“Because, Arthur, I believe it or not I don’t want to see you dead, even if you are a giant clotpole,” he gave a weak smile before sighing and continuing, “one day you will be an incredible King, one who rev _e_ rse the magic ban and implement fair and just laws, one who will care for his subjects and always put them first. You’re a good man, Arthur, an amazing one, even, and I’m going to make sure you live to accomplish what you’re meant to.” 

Affection flooded Arthur, warming him from his core, as he listened to Merlin speak such wonderful words about him. He had such faith in him… He thought so highly of him, and…

“And, perhaps, a little because I, kind of, sort of, well,” Merlin cleared his throat, averting his eyes as colour dusted his cheeks, “am in love with you.”

And there it was. Arthur’s heart stuttered in his chest as his eyes widened just a fraction. Gods, it’s one thing to suspect it, but it’s a whole new thing to be told it. Merlin loved him. _Merlin was in love with him!_ Merlin was—staring at him anxiously. Oh, oh how long has he been just staring at Merlin?

Arthur felt his face flush deeply as Merlin stared at him, seeming both nervous and hopeful. “Well, Merlin, this day may not just be the worst yet because it appears that… I, kind of, sort of, well,” he paused, watching as a stupid grin formed on the brunet’s face, “am in love with you, too.”

The way Merlin’s face positively lit up at Arthur’s words made it impossible for him to bite back his grin.

“Well… That’s good, it’d be pretty prattish of you to not reciprocate,” Merlin joked lightly. Arthur snorted in amusement, rolling his eyes.

“Does that mean I’m not a prat then?”

“Not at all! You’re perhaps the biggest prat I’ve met,” Merlin smirked widely, “now you’re just a prat who’s in love with me.”

Arthur feigned an annoyed sigh, still smiling a bit. “Well, I suppose I can live with that.”

Merlin grinned brightly at him, and Arthur felt a bit of his stress from the day lift from his shoulders. They sat in silence for a few moments, as the thrill of their reciprocated love wore off and they remembered what would happen come morning. Arthur chewed his bottom lip, something he noticed was becoming habit as of late, before he finally let out a breath and locked eyes with Merlin.

“Stay with me tonight?” He asked, hating how clear the hesitation to ask was in his voice. “Not, not to _do_ anything, or something like that. No, I want to court you properly, as you deserve. Just, I just want you near me tonight. We’ve had a difficult day, and I just found out you love me back, and I’d very much like to fall asleep in your arms…Don’t make me regret saying that.”

Instead of teasing him, though, like Arthur thought he would, Merlin just smiled softly and leaned against him. “Your bed is probably more comfortable than mine is anyway. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone the crown Prince of Camelot is secretly a cuddler.”

Arthur rolled his eyes at this and pulled off his shoes, tossing them aside.

“Oh! So, he _does_ know how to take off his own shoes!” Merlin gasped in faux surprise, as he pulled off his own.

“I’ve always known how, Merlin, perhaps I just liked the sight of you on your knees,” he shot back with a smirk. A blush spread over Merlin’s face, and he shot the Prince a half-hearted glare before climbing under the covers, still in his day clothes.

Normally, Arthur would have insisted they change, but this day he couldn’t be bothered and slid under the duvet next to his servant. He stayed still for a moment, unsure if he should hold Merlin or not. Arthur assumed he must have taken too long to decide, though, for Merlin took matters into his own hands and wrapped his arms loosely around Arthur’s waist, pulling him close.

Arthur smiled softly, sighing, as Merlin buried his face in his chest and closed his eyes. Pressing a tender kiss to the top of Merlin’s head, Arthur closed his own eyes, hoping sleep would welcome him soon.

* * *

The next morning was somber. For the first time, Arthur found himself averting his gaze as the pyre was lit, an action that was so reminiscent of Morgana it almost hurt. Merlin stood at his side, though keeping his eyes steadfastly on the sky. Arthur couldn’t help but feel grateful the warlock chose not to miss the execution like he normally would. He tried to tell Merlin he’d be fine without him, but he refused to let Arthur go witness his first execution as a sorcerer alone—said something about how it would be different than before.

A part of Arthur didn’t believe him at first, but he was right. It was different. It was so much different, because it just as easily could have been himself or Merlin being lit aflame, although he knew if it were himself his father wouldn’t have done something so public, that knowledge didn’t stop his mind from reminding him.

He pretended not to notice his father’s disappointed stare when he looked away from the sorcerer, when his jaw clenched as the man screamed, when his hands balled into tight fists as his screams died out… He tried not to let himself be overwhelmed with guilt and shame at the realization of how much worse it must be for Merlin to experience this, and how much longer he’s been having to…

When he’s crowned King, Arthur decided, Merlin would never have to feel afraid for being who he was again, none of his subjects would. The punishment would fit the crime, and never again would _anyone_ be burned on the pyre. The ban would be lifted, and he’d use his gifted magic to ease the minds of the sorcerers in the kingdom, to show they would be safe.

He would be a fair and just King, he swore it, and he’d have Merlin at his side through it all.

* * *

It was two days later that Duke Halsburn finally rode off back to his kingdom. Merlin and Arthur hadn’t set foot in the woods for magic training since the execution, both finding it too much of a risk to go back out when the Duke was still in Camelot.

Neither ever found out why exactly Halsburn was out so late, but both couldn’t contain their relief at the knowledge that the meddling noble was gone, celebrating with sweet wine and stolen fruit tarts from the kitchen that evening before falling asleep wrapped in one another’s arms.

Arthur wanted to go back out to train more once he was left, but Merlin decided it wouldn’t be safe yet, so instead he sat in his chambers with the doors locked and curtains shut, practicing when he could.

It wasn’t until a week after the Duke left that Merlin finally deemed it safe to start going back out. Arthur learned to be more careful with his magic, and Merlin never grew tired of going on and on about how quick a learner the Prince was. That was brought them to a month after the Duke’s departure, sitting in Arthur’s chambers at his table with Arthur’s lunch sitting between them. 

“Merlin?” Arthur hummed, picking at the cheese on his platter.

The brunet looked over to him, popping a bite of bread into his mouth as he does, and raised an eyebrow. Arthur stared at him for a moment before clearing his throat and sitting up straighter.

“How would you feel about being appointed my Court Sorcerer when I become King?” He asked, shifting slightly in his chair. He’d been thinking about it for a while, and he didn’t know why but it just felt like a good time to ask.

Merlin’s eyes widened for a moment before a smile broke out on his face. Relief flooded through Arthur. It wasn’t that he thought Merlin would decline, he just knew the sorcerer didn’t care too much for the idea of having a title, so he was unsure how he would react.

“It would be my honour, Arthur,” Merlin said softly, “when the day comes, I’ll hold the title with pride.”

The Prince nodded slowly, looking down to the platter of food they were sharing. “Good, that’s good to know. I’ll need my Court Sorcerer to advise me on how to tell my kingdom their King has magic.”

“I’d gladly help you find the words.”

“I know I don’t say it enough, but thank you.”

Merlin grinned brightly at the words, and Arthur’s chest swelled with love at the sight. One day, he hoped, Court Sorcerer won’t be the only title Merlin holds…

“You’re right!” He agreed, “you don’t say it enough. Say it again?”

Arthur rolled his eyes at him but leaned back in his seat anyway. “Thank you, Merlin. Really, without you, I’d probably still be freaking out and terrified. Gods, imagine what would have happened to me had you not stepped in to help… No, actually, don’t. Point is, thank you, for helping me. I may have magic for the rest of my life now, but with your help hiding it and your guidance in using it, I don’t mind as much as I probably should. In fact, it’s kind of fun.”

Merlin started at him for a moment, silent, before leaning over the table and pressing their lips together gently. Arthur let out a slight sound of surprise, but quickly relaxed, moving his lips back against Merlin’s in a sweet kiss. When they separated, Arthur blinked a few times, a little dazed from the unexpected kiss, and tilted his head.

“What was that for?”

“I just love you so much,” Merlin beamed, “you’ve no idea how prideful it makes me to hear say those things…”

He paused a moment before sitting back in his seat. “We’re going to create such an amazing Kingdom. You’re going to be such an incredible King.”

“You know what, Merlin? It’s a miracle, really, but the impossible just happened!” Arthur said, very seriously, before a playful smirk found its way onto his face,

“I think you may just be right, for once.”

* * *

**_ Epilogue  _ **

_Many years in the future…_

“ _Arthur,_ hey!” Merlin greeted a little too loudly as he slipped into his and Arthur’s shared chambers, walking over and standing front of the King’s desk.

Arthur looked up from the paperwork he was reviewing, and raised an eyebrow at his husband. He had that ‘I’m suspicious’ look on his face. What was he up to?

“What are you up to, Merlin?” He voiced his question.

Merlin’s brows furrowed in a frown and he crossed his arms. “What makes you think I’m up to something? Can I not just come see my husband on my break from my duties? Is that a new law you passed while I was meeting with Morgana to discuss protective legislation for the Old Religion? Gods, honestly, I come say hello to my prat of a King, to brighten his dull and boring day and this is the treatment I get—”

“ _Merlin._ ” Arthur cut him off, leaning back in his chair, “You’re rambling. You ramble when you’re hiding something. Spill.”

The man sighed loudly, his shoulders drooping as a pout pulled at his lips. “ _Fine._ Fine. Morgana is coming to visit. Tomorrow. She just told me before I headed back here after out meeting,” he paused, glaring at Arthur, “it was _supposed_ to be surprise.”

Morgana’s coming to visit? Arthur suppressed a grin at the thought of seeing his sister. Sure, she was nosy and drove him insane, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t miss her while she was away doing whatever a High Priestess does.

“She’s bringing her apprentice,” Merlin continued on, “and she is _very_ excited to meet the magical Kings of Camelot…The apprentice, not Morgana. So, get practicing your party tricks, you’ve got a young High Priestess in training on her way who’s going to insist you show her your magic.”

Arthur groaned slightly at this. Lovely. It wasn’t that he didn’t like sharing his magic, not when he’d grown so used to it over the years and improved incredibly, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed being used as some kid’s entertainment—though, he wouldn’t complain, he’d deal with it, because he always loved the way their faces would light up when he conjured a flower like Merlin taught him, or something of the like.

“Right, so, anything else I should be ready for?” The King asked, almost reluctantly.

He tried not to look too disappointed when Merlin nodded. Apparently, he failed.

“Oh, don’t give me that, you’ll like this one,” he promised. When he didn’t keep talking immediately, Arthur waved with his hand to signal him to go on. “Oh, yeah, right. Morgana is also bringing Mordred with her, and he is very excited to see you and the Knight’s again, said you owe him match on the training field?”

Arthur perked up almost instantaneously. Mordred! He liked Mordred! Mordred was always so nice to them, and was always willing to prank the Knights with magic with him. But most of all, he loved getting to see Merlin and Mordred interact. Arthur swore to himself that if Merlin had the chance, he would claim that boy as his son. There was a period of time he seemed almost hateful of him, but to Arthur’s relief (and Mordred’s), Merlin eventually changed his attitude and grew rather fond of him—even if he tried to deny it.

“When should we be expecting them? How long are they staying?” Arthur found himself asking, a smile tugging at his lips even as he fought it back.

“Should be around lunch, and I’m not sure, maybe a sennight?”

“Splendid! I’ll ask the Cook to prepare their favourites…” A pause. “Well, Morgana and Mordred’s. I don’t know the apprentice.”

Merlin hummed slightly and walked around the desk. “Good idea, but I’ll tell them I did it. It’s meant to be a surprise, remember?” He sat gently on Arthur’s lap, wrapping his arms around his neck.

Arthur raised an eyebrow at his consort, but wrapped his arms around the brunet’s waist loosely. “Right. I’ll do my best to act surprised… Are you done with your duties for the evening or something?”

“Mhm…” Merlin nodded, moving his hands to Arthur’s hair and playing with it. “I was hoping you would be, as well. After all… With Morgana and them all coming, we’ll be very busy this next week...”

“Who knows when we’ll get some time alone again?” He asked innocently, his eyes wide.

The King let out a small laugh, amused. “ _Mer_ lin,” he teased, “if you wanted to get me in bed, all you need to do is ask, love. I suppose reviewing these reports can wait until morning, since I obviously have more important things to do…”

Arthur pressed his lips against Merlin’s in a deep kiss, a shiver running down his spine at the soft pleased noise his consort made in response. He stood from his chair with Merlin in his arms, who wrapped his legs securely around Arthur as he stood. Not breaking the kiss, but peeking open an eye to see where he was going, he carried Arthur over to the bed before breaking the kiss finally and dropping him down onto it, climbing over him with a grin.

Merlin stared up at him, face flushed and an eager look in his eyes as he tugged Arthur back down to his lips with by his hair.

“I love being more important things,” the warlock gasped breathlessly against Arthur’s mouth. Arthur huffed out a laugh, breaking the kiss to shake his head fondly at his lover.

“ _You_ … Are so ridiculous…” 

Merlin just winked. “Yet you love me anyway!”

And, _gods help him_ , he really did…

**Author's Note:**

> > Rough Translations for Spells in Order of Use: 
>> 
>> 1\. Freeze! 
>> 
>> 2\. Goddess [of] Sorcery/magic, I pray to thee, my power transferred to Arthur; my life given in payment. Goddess [of] Sorcery/magic, I pray to thee, give Arthur my gift, welcome me home. 
>> 
>> 3\. Bloom White Aster [directly: blossom aster white]
>> 
>> 4\. Come light
>> 
>> _These are just rough translations, as I clearly do not speak Old English, and there is possibility for error in my translations, as I am only human. I did spend hours on translating, in effort to keep as little error as possible, but again, I am only human and apologize for any mistakes._  
> 
> 
> Honestly, this fic was going to focus so much more on Arthur actually using magic and learning it when I first started it, but as I wrote on, I found myself focusing less on him actually using the magic and more on how he was dealing with actually having magic. I still like it, I still am proud of how it came out even if my aim changed. There's not as much H/C as I originally intended, but again, I'm still pleased with how it came out and proud of my work.
> 
> I sincerely enjoyed writing this so much, and I am so so so happy I was able to finish it in time to submit it to Tavernfest's Merlin H/C Fest. 
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed this, _thank you so much_ for reading!!


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